Encyclopedia of World Biography on Halifax, 1st Earl of

The English statesman Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (1881-1959), was viceroy of India from 1926 to 1931. He later served as foreign secretary and as ambassador to the United States during World War II.

Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, the fourth son of the 2d Viscount Halifax, was born on April 16, 1881, in Powderham Castle near Exeter, Devonshire. He enjoyed an aristocratic childhood, although it was punctuated by tragedy. Like his father, who was president of the English Church Union for 51 years, he was a deeply religious person and developed a stoic ability to rise above personal tragedies. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford; in 1906 he became a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.

In 1909 Wood married Lady Dorothy Onslow, and the following year he entered Parliament as a Conservative member for Ripon, Yorkshire. His political advancement was steady but not spectacular. After serving (1915-1917) with...